Seeing Through Her Eyes
by ToxicGirlfriend
Summary: {Story adopted from buggienettebby} Marinette, Alya, Nino and Adrien were childhood friends who lost contact with each other after Mari moved to China. Now, years later, Marinette returns and reunites with her friends. But things have changed since the last time she was in Paris. Not only is there a man named Hawkmoth causing evil, and a magic 'Kwami' in her room, but she's blind.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey Guys! I know I'm supposed to be writing for two other fandoms as well as two stories for this one, one of which I haven't even began to write yet, but the writer of a story I am absolutely in love with offered their story up for adoption and I jumped at the opportunity to try and write in the world in which they have created. So if the first seven or so chapters sound similar it is because I am not the original owner of this story, but will be continuing it for all those fans of the story. Shout out to the original owner** _ **buggienettebby,**_ **make sure to check out the rest of their work and to thank them for coming up with this fantastic AU. Feel free to suggest any changes to the story, critique or comment in the reviews, I am always happy to hear what others have to say. Other than that, I have nothing else to say, so I hope you enjoy!**

I struggled.

Every waking minute of every day, while lying in that hospital bed, I struggled. The move to China was something amazing, it truly was an experience and I didn't regret a single thing. How could I? I was in a wonderful place surrounded by all of those who love and care for me, and I love and care for in turn.

Trust my luck to ruin such an experience. We all knew how it struck at the worst of times, and once my parents and I made the move, it was only a matter of _when_? _When_ would my bad luck begin to cause chaos in this new life of ours? After a mere few months of us being here, I fell ill. A disease had started attacking the back of my brain near the stem. The Doctors said that if the growth of the disease continued I'd become paralysed. They reassured my parents that, with the right medication, support and a handful of _luck_ , I might be able to defeat it.

My eye sight was the first thing that started to deteriorate. The deterioration, at first, was slow and hardly noticeable. But with each passing day, as the weeks turned into months and my treatment helped stop the destruction of the rest of my brain, the speed of which my sight disappeared, grew. The Doctor's had deducted that whilst the disease was gone due to the excellent medication China had, there was no way for them to save my vision.

Maman and Papa, who had been by my bedside through the whole ordeal, where the ones who broke the news to me. Eventually, I would become blind. From that point on, I never wanted to stop looking at them. I didn't want to forget what they looked like. I'd engrave their appearances in my brain before that ever happened.

Every day, I fought to keep the remnants of the disease at bay, to hold onto my vision just a little longer. I was still in my hospital bed. While my parents had requested to take me out of the hospital, to see the world before I lost one of five senses, my Doctors had argued that whilst the full force of the disease had passed, they needed me within close range so that they could monitor my healing and insure the disease's destruction. Today, like many days before it, I was looking out of my window at my surroundings. At the bustling streets below, filled with faces of people unknown going about their business, unaware of the young girl looking down at them from the third floor who was turning blind. I looked at the trees, their leaves and each individual nest hidden between a branch's forks filled with twittering, hungry baby birds.

I observed everything, obtaining every last piece of detail no matter how tiny. I took in the colours; the blues of the skies and greens of the trees, the greys of the footpaths and the pinks and oranges of sunsets that reached over the towering buildings of the city and touched my window. I often wondered if I'd be able to recall what colours were after living with my blindness for a few years. I knew deep down that I would forget. But I had to at least _try_ and make the colours stick in my memory for as long as possible. For the truth was, living in a world without colour scared me. Colour could display so many emotions. It could be happy, angry, sad and so much more! And to think I'd lose that…

More importantly, I kept a picture in my hands at all times. Occasionally I would glance at it hoping against all hope that I would never forget the smile that looked back up at me. The smiles of my friends. I missed them terribly. Alya, Nino, and most importantly, Adrien. I studied their faces night and day, but as time passed by, so did my vision just as expected it would.

Each new day I saw my vision blur and become more unclear than it did the day previous. It was like looking through foggy glass. But it never stopped me from looking at the picture I held though. From trying to capture their faces. Given time, it was the last thing I saw before waking up the very next day seeing nothing but a black abyss.

When I turned thirteen the Doctors were comfortable enough to let me go from the hospital, confident that the disease was completely eradicated. My parents took me home that very day with, what I could only presume, large smile on their faces. I spent the following months entering in and out of rehab programs were I learnt how to read Braile, to walk with my cane, type on the computer and to rely on my other four senses to guide me throughout everyday living. I adjusted to my new life style quickly, accepting my disability with a flare of confidence as to not worry my parents after all we'd been through together, and soon I was able to carry on like how I used to.

It was on my 17th birthday when I received the news that my family and I were moving back to Paris, France. I couldn't remember a time when I was more excited. I loved the idea of meeting my old friends again that almost forgot about the fact that I'd have no way of contacting hem, or knowing where they were. For all I knew, they left Paris and moved elsewhere. As for us, we were going to move back to the same place we left. My parents were to shut down their current bakery in China and re-open their old bakery in France.

I felt so many emotions just talking about it with Maman and Papa. I was happy because I'd be living in my place of birth yet sad that my friends may not even remember me. With so many feelings coursing through me through the span of just a few minutes made me sick to the stomach. I could only picture the smiling faces of my parents as they chuckled and watched me crash around our living room in my excitement, bringing another smile to my own face.

The flight back to Paris was a long one, so I kept myself busy. I spent several minutes writing in my diary when I realized everything started to sound a bit repetitive. I played my music for a while but shortly grew tired of the songs I had heard many a time. I even listened to a few chapters of an audiobook but not even the adventures of Sherlock Homes could keep me sitting still in my seat. So I forced myself to just listen to the hum of the plane's engines and the excited chatter, and sometimes snoring, of other passengers; occasionally talking with Maman when she asked if I needed anything.

Every now and then, I'd hear a little child, presumably from the seats across the aisle from ours, ask his mother, "Why is she just staring at the seat?"

The mother, obviously tired and in no rush to explain what blindness is, simply told him "Shush, stop asking."

At one point the mother had gotten up from her seat to, presumably, go to the bathroom. Without his mother's watchful gaze, I felt the kid's eyes narrow in on me. Biting my lip, I turned my head in the boy's direction. Honestly, it was probably a little creepy on my part, but the boy didn't seem to mind. Or if he did, he didn't bring it up.

"Hi!" the little boy shouted, despite being only a good metre away from me.

Flinching at the sudden loudness, I smiled at him, "Hey." The child must have only been four or five years of age, so his natural curiosity sparked by my 'odd' behaviour was unsurprising.

"Why do you stare at everything?" I heard the boy jump off his seat and stumble towards my chair.

"Well, you see, I'm blind."

The confusion he must have felt was evident in his tone of voice, "What does that mean?"

Chuckling, I answered the boy's question in the simplest way possible, "It means I can't see."

He was silent for a moment. I was slightly startled when I suddenly felt two tiny hands grasp my face, "Will you ever see again?"

 _No_. But I didn't want to tell him that, he was still young, he could be ignorant of the world's unfairness for a little longer, "I don't know, to tell you the truth."

"Well, I hope you can see again soon. Don't give up!" he cheered.

I laughed. It was impossible, "I won't."

Taking his hands away from my cheeks, the child spoke up again, "My name's Toby. What's yours?"

Blinking at the sudden change in conversation, I replied, "I'm Marinette."

Toby's mother had decided at that moment to come back and break up our conversation by yanking him back to his seat, apologising for any rudeness he may have shown. I was quick to reassure her that it was fine, and continued to talk with Toby for the rest of the trip.

After landing in Paris some many hours, and conversations, later my parents and I said goodbye to Toby and took a bus to the stop near the bakery that we used to call home. Papa had mentioned something about delivery trucks, filled with our belongings, currently being on their way to the building. As said trucks arrived, Maman and Papa unpacked whilst I got adjusted to my surroundings.

It was harder than I thought.

I must have bumped into every piece of furniture we had, cupboards, coffee tables, couches, chairs, the list went on. After I heard the sound of multiple crashes, glassware shattering against wooden floor, I decided to leave the exploring for another day, when jet lag didn't have such an effect on me.

Instead, I opted to sit outside and type on my computer to keep me occupied. Whilst typing, I could hear a girl complaining from about a block away.

"I said _gold_ , not _silver_! Silver is for poor people! Besides, it would look _way_ better on my car. Don't you idiots know _anything?_ Do your job properly or I'll tell my Daddy how bad of a service you give, he'll have to shut it down."

I simply rolled my eyes. God, what a brat! Prissy little rich girls like her didn't understand how lucky they were to have everything they wanted. How dare she complain about something as trivial as having something silver over something gold? How could someone be so ungrateful?

Her voice drew closer to which I turned my head towards. I felt a small push against my shoulder, the unexpected contact, along with the shove, caused me to drop my computer and knock my cane away from beside me. Hearing the expensive piece of equipment fall out of my hands and onto the cement with a loud _SMACK_ terrified me. It was most likely broken.

A cold sweat began to form on my forehead as I began to panic. That computer cost a _lot_ of money and it would be no easy task to replace it. I couldn't even begin to count how many pastries my parents would have to sell in order to buy me another.

Letting my fingertips touch the ground, I began to feel around the cold pavement for the device when I felt someone push the familiar piece of metal into my hands. Grabbing it, I reached for the wall I knew was beside me as to make sure I didn't fall over when I stood up, as without my cane, I felt slightly unbalanced.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry about that! I was too busy on my phone to watch where I was going-oh, wow." The girl who claimed to be the one who bumped into me apologised before cutting off her sentence halfway through.

Not too far away, I small snort was hurt. "Look at that Sabrina, Miss Comic Book Geek has friends other than that DJ Freak!"

It was the brat from earlier. I grit my teeth in an attempt to bite back a rude comment. I might not have known the person who bumped into me, or the history they might've had with this person, but she definitely hadn't done anything _now_ to deserve this person's mocking.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl spoke sarcastically, "I didn't know my social life was so important to you. Why don't you run along, haven't you got a Daddy to go and complain to? But, I guess that's what bitches do in their spare time, huh?" she shot back which cause me to smile.

Hearing a scoff and nothing but the sound of high heels click-clacking across the sidewalk, decreasing in volume with every second that passed, I sensed the girl who had caused my computer to fall turn to me, "I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble, Chloe had no right to involve you with our rivalry. And as for the computer, if it's broken, I'll find the money to buy you a new one!" she reassured.

"N-no, no. You don't have to do that. These things are expensive, there is no way I could let you do such a thing. I'm sure it's fine." I responded as I began to smile at the girl's kindness.

"O-kaaaay. But if it _is_ broken I _will_ buy you a new one if it's the last thing I do." She said confidently, her stubbornness causing me to giggle. The girl didn't seem to say anything for a bit, I presumed she left when she said, "I'm sorry, have we met before? It's just that, you look awfully familiar."

"Oh, Yeah! I used to live here in Paris. Perhaps you saw me pass you through the streets one time? A Doctor told me once you see a face you never forget it, but I'm still testing out how true that theory is." I reasoned, forcing myself to kill any hope that this may have been Alya.

"No, no, I'm _certain_ the connection's deeper than that…" the girl denied, pondering on the thought as I felt her observe my features, "What's your name?" she asked abruptly.

"M-Marinette Dupain-Cheng." I replied, uncertain as to whether or not I should be giving away my personal details to just anyone, no-matter how friendly they may seem. But then again, how else was I supposed to make friends?

"MARI!?"


	2. Alya?

**A/N: Hey Guys! Quick note. Thanks to all that followed, favorited and reviewed, I appreciate it greatly. Sorry for the delay, but to speak the truth, I don't really have a schedule for when I update, I just update sporadically based on whether or not I have inspiration or the will power to write. So if I don't update for… say… 7 months (which I don't plan on doing for any of my stories EVER again) I am not dead, I am simply facing the hard reality that is writers block. So on that cheery note, hope you enjoy this next chappie! It's a little different from previous chapters by the original owner, but tell me what you think, do you like it this way? Or would you prefer it if I reverted it back to its original structure?**

"MARI!?"

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" her heart wasn't allowed to beat that fast. It wasn't Alya. Was it?

"It's me! ALYA!"

Oh my god it _was!_ Marinette changed her mind. The moment her parents told her they were returning to Paris wasn't the happiest she had ever been, now was! She had never expected to hear Alya's voice anytime soon, if she was even still in Paris. Tears began to spring from her eyes as she took a shaky breath, "I missed you _so_ much."

Soon enough, the ravenette was embraced warmly by her friend, both girls sniffling as they tried not to shed their tears of joy and loneliness of years passed. It was then that Marinette realised, that Alya was taller than her, if only by a few inches.

"I can't believe you're here! I mean-You're here! I can't believe it!" Alya stumbled over her words as her shock took place.

"Me neither, China was amazing for the most part but there is nothing quite like home." She replied.

Alya began to pat her friend's locks as she cooed at her, "Aww, you put your hair up into pigtails, it's so cute! You always used to wear your hair in a bun. You've changed so much!" as Alya looked the other girl over she couldn't help but notice how Marinette's blue eyes were looking past her and up at the sky.

Unfortunately for Marinette, she couldn't guess accurately how tall Alya was compared to herself, so, to avoid being rude Marinette figured she'd just look upward.

"Uh, girl, my eyes are down here." Said girl lowered her gaze back down, unknowingly staring at her friend's nose. This odd behaviour concerned Alya greatly, until a thought crept into her mind, "Girl, do you need glasses?"

"No." the ravenette replied timidly. Marinette wondered how Alya would react once she told her she was actually blind. She had to tell her, right? They were childhood best friends, she couldn't _not_ tell her! Her brain told her to tell the girl, her heart begged her to, but a sliver of fear still clung to her consciousness, fear of being treated differently due to her disability, "No, I-I don't."

Laughing heartily, Alya replied, "Then why are you staring at my nose?"

Marinette felt around on the cold ground for her walking stick until she had it in her hand, "Alya, I'm um… I'm uh blind." She held up her cane to further prove her point. The dead silence was all the indication the ravenette needed to know that Alya was, well, shocked at the news.

"Oh. Oh… oh my gosh… oh wow, that's… wait…" Alya paused, "You, you weren't like that when we were kids…"

"Y-yeah… it's kinda a recent development-"

"Honey, who is this?" the soothing voice Marinette connected her mother with interrupted her, the sound of the bakery door's bell jingle as it opened, allowing the older woman to step outside and look for her daughter.

"Maman, you remember Alya. We used to be friends." The seventeen year old replied, gesturing in the direction she thought Alya was.

"Alya! It's great to see you, look how you've grown!" Sabine cooed.

"Thank you Mrs Cheng."

"It's so nice to see that you're still in town. Would you girls like to come inside? Especially you, Marinette, we don't want you dropping that computer." The Chinese women chided as she sauntered back into what would be the shop after they finished putting all of the equipment back in.

Marinette grimaced at the mention of the device still in her hands. She felt Alya pat her shoulder encouragingly and heard the soft jingle of the door as her friend opened it for her. Cane in hand, Marinette entered.

"Hey, Marinette?" Alya asked the ravenette once they were inside and said girl's computer was safely sitting on a tabletop, "How did you go blind? I mean-you don't _have_ to tell me if it's a sensitive topic it's just that-"

"It's okay, Alya." Marinette reassured, "I was planning on telling you anyway."

Several hours and cookies later, the half Chinese girl had finished telling her story. Alya, who had listened patiently throughout the entire tale, was first to break the silence that soon followed, "Wow, sounds like you've been through a lot." She commented.

"Yeah." Marinette sighed, "But I've learnt to deal with it." As the silence continued, Marinette searched for a new topic for them to converse over, "So… how have you and the boys been Alya?"

"You mean Nino and Adrien?" the other girl questioned, "Nino and I still hang out, we were in the same class at school last year. He's actually a DJ now."

"Really?!"

"Yeah, at the start of Collège* he found his passion for music. He gave mixing a try and he was kinda a natural. Nino's got himself a job at a club downtown, great place, hard to get into though. His beats have attracted quite the crowd." Alya giggled.

The blunette replied with her own chorus of giggles, "I'm happy for him. And what about Adrien? Is he still around?"

"I haven't seen him since you left, to be honest. He's actually modelling now for his father's company."

"Adrien. A model." Marinette stated, not entirely convinced that the ten year old boy with messy blonde hair, baby fat, slightly bucked teeth and dinosaur Band-Aids plastered all over his body – due to the amount of times he'd fallen over – could grow up to be a _model_. Sure he was _cute_ when they were little, but a _model?_

"Yep." Confirmed Alya, "you can't walk anywhere in Paris without seeing him plastered on a wall wearing his father's designs. He has an entire fan-base dedicated to him. Our little Goldilocks is a killer with the ladies." The girl finalised.

"Wow. Okay, I didn't expect that." Stated the Chinese girl truthfully as she felt around the coffee table for the plate of cookies.

Alya, too, took another treat from the plate, "What do you mean you didn't expect that? He was pretty adorable when we were kids, from what I can remember. It's just that that giant bag of adorable grew up to be a whole package of hotness – a model worthy package of hotness. And if my memory serves me right, you two used to be so close! You had the _biggest_ crushes on each other." Teased the taller girl.

Their conversation continued as Tom and the Movers brought in the last of the furniture and boxes from the truck.

"A-Alya." The ravenette blushed, causing Alya to giggle once again, "From what I can remember, Adrien was cute, and it is possible that I _may_ – **may** – have had a crush on him—" she could sense her friend about to object to her statement but didn't give her the chance as she carried on talking, "but that was a _long_ time ago, and I have no doubt that Adrien would have grown up to be just as good looking as he was then, but I just can't imagine the chatty, hyperactive little boy we used to play with standing around for hours on end, doing nothing but posing in front of a camera." Marinette finished.

"… Your feelings may have died down, but you still like him though." Marinette didn't need to see to know the sly smirk growing on her friends face.

"ALYAAAA!"

"Okay, Okay." Surrendered said girl, giving up on her interrogation… for now, "But the truth is girl, people change. You have. I have. Nino has. So it only makes sense that Adrien has too. Believe me. Seeing his face glued to the wall of my bus stop was a bit of a surprise to me too, but hey, it's been _seven_ long years. Who knows what's happened? I only hope that if the four of us ever get together again, that all of that fame hasn't fried his brain." The two teens laughed at the thought before sobering up after several moments.

"I really have been gone a long time." Stated Marinette sullenly.

"You're here now," Alya reached to put a hand on her friend's shoulder, "and that's all that matters." Marinette melted into the contact, happy to receive such kind words from her friend, "Do you remember how we all met?" continued the taller girl as she put down her half eaten cookie.

"We were on the swings at the park." A small smile graced the blunette's face as she, too, put down her snack as they began to reminisce, "We were so _little_."

"You and I, we were on the swings, and the boys decided it was their turn. So, Nino came up to us and demanded we get off." Alya continued.

"You told them to get lost." Laughed Marinette.

"I did, didn't I?" Alya joined in, their laughs echoing off the walls, "But you told them that we could share. If they pushed us for a little bit, then we'd jump off and push them. That way everyone could go on the swings." Alya chuckled, "You always wanted to make everyone happy. We went cloud watching after that."

Silence returned to the conversation.

"I remember that day so clearly." Whispered Marinette.

"Y'know, Marinette… you being blind doesn't change anything. You're still my best friend." Alya spoke softly.

"Thank you." Was all Marinette could say without balling her eyes out.

Sabine hovered in the archway leading to the living room, watching the girls with a fond smile as they chattered away the years that had separated them, returning to their friendship as if nothing had ever changed. The mother's eyes watered at the sight, hope blossoming in her heart at the idea of her daughter having a happy life here. She was truly thankful that her little Mari had friends such as Alya. Tom came up behind his wife, enveloping her in a hug as he, too, gazed happily at the sight as he was now finished with the unloading.

"Alya, you live around here still, right?" asked the bulking mass of a man, interrupting the girl's comfortable silence.

"Sure do, Mr Dupain." Answered the girl, coming back to reality and away from the emotional moment.

"Would you mind helping Marinette get familiar with the school route?" the baker questioned.

"It won't be a problem, sir, besides, it'd give me and Mari a chance to talk about what's happened in my _fabulous_ life!" Alya spoke enthusiastically as she jumped off the couch.

"Are you sure you don't need my help?" Marinette asked her parents.

"We'll be fine, dear, we'll just be unpacking everything." Sabine reassured, and with that, Alya latched onto the girl's arm as she pulled her in the direction of the door.

Once they were out, Alya put Marinette's hand on her shoulder before taking slow, cautious steps towards the school. Said girl took out her cane and began swinging it about on the cement pavement, back and forth, back and forth, taking mental notes on every crack and cranny.

The girls chatted like bubbly school girls for a while, with Alya informing the other girl about her aspirations to be a journalist or reporter, how her number of siblings had multiplied over recent years, and how her love for everything superhero hasn't wavered over their time apart.

"How long until you'll be able to walk on your own?" asked the taller girl.

Marinette pressed her lips together in a thin line in thought before answering, "If I go the same way each time, then probably one week, max."

Alya hummed in reply, but she couldn't help but be a little disappointed at that number. She wanted her friend to experience everything that was new in Paris, for as they had said earlier, she was gone for _seven_ years. A lot had changed in this city. But then she remembered that her friend was blind. Mari wouldn't be able to see the new places. What was the point in taking her there if she couldn't enjoy them?

The taller girl mentally slapped herself as she realised what she was thinking. Mari could still enjoy the places, she didn't _have_ to see to enjoy them! Alya mentally berated herself for almost treating her friend differently based on her disability. "I can walk you to school if you'd like?" she asked.

Marinette smiled, grateful for her friends thoughtfulness, "Thank you, but you don't have to—"

"Nonsense." Alya argued, "Anything to help my girl out."

In response, Marinette gave her friend's shoulder a squeeze, silently giving her thanks.

"Who else goes to our school?" asked the girl, "besides you and Nino?" the ravenette would be lying if she said she didn't hope that Adrien went there too. Sure, Alya had said she hadn't seen him since she left, but perhaps she just wasn't looking in the right places? It didn't matter whether or not she still had a small amount of feelings for him, he was still her friend, at least, she hoped.

"Not anyone you would know, unfortunately. Everyone from our Ecoles Maternelles* and Ecole primaire* years have all either left town or are at different Lycées*. A lot of the people from my Collège go to the same Lycée as us though, I'll have to introduce ya'."

The world around the pair erupted into noise as they walked on the footpath around an excavation site. The blind girl could hear the sound of jackhammers chipping away at the cemented ground, excavators ploughing into the rubble, the shouts of frustrated builders as they tried to find order among the chaos. With the loss of one of her most valuable senses, Marinette had to rely on her remaining senses to guide her, but the noise was quite a distraction.

Due to the clatter interfering with her senses, Marinette just so happened to stumble over a small dip in the concrete. If it were anyone else, the stumble would have remained a stumble and nothing else would happen. But because this was Marinette, the clumsiest and unluckiest girl in the world, she fell. And due to the hand she had clasped around her friend's shoulder, so did Alya. With a thud, the duo landed on top of each on the cold, hard concrete.

"Ow."

"That's the understatement of the century." Laughed Alya at the predicament her friend landed them in. Alya was laying on top of Marinette who had fallen face first onto the ground.

"Whoops." Marinette giggled as she felt the wait on her back shift. The blind girl allowed her hand to be grabbed as she was pulled up from the dirty street floor by the other girl.

"It's cool, girl, you were gonna trip at some point, this is only your first time walking through." Reassured Alya.

 _Still, I gotta remember that dip's there for next time,_ Marinette told herself before carrying on with their walk. Heading towards them, above the sounds of the construction site, the half-Chinese girl could hear screams of joy and stomping feet as soles hit pavement. As the strange occurrence passed by them, Marinette gave a questioning look in what she presumed was Alya's direction, but after feeling her shrug thought nothing else of it. So the conversation continued.

"What about Adrien? Does he go to our Lycée?"

Alya gave a disappointed sigh before answering, "He hasn't gone back to school ever since his old man pulled him out at our first year at Collège. He hasn't returned since."

"But I left in our second-to-last year in Ecole primaire, he still had a year at primaire with you before going into Collège, you said you hadn't seen him since I left." Marinette stated.

"You're right, but after you left he stopped hanging out with us. It wasn't his fault though, he started modelling around then so he was pretty busy, and his other extracurricular activities took up every other spare minute of his day. Eventually we just grew apart."

Marinette frowned at the news, but didn't push the topic any further.

 **LB & & & & & & & & & & & & &CN.**

Pulling the black hood closer to his face, Adrien continued his frenzied walk down the streets of Paris. Summer was coming to an end, with autumn hot on the season's heels, bringing with it the start of a new school year. And with the holidays coming to a close, the fangirls were doing everything they could – spending every day they had to spare – to try and catch a glimpse of him before they were dragged back to school in chains.

Adrien thought he had lost the cameras and groupies, but he was wrong. All he wanted to do was grab some lunch, without Nathalie, without the Gorilla, all by himself. He would be _eighteen_ soon, for crying out loud! It was about time he did something without anyone else's help. However, as always, it seemed as if the Universe had other plans for him… by letting his disguise slip a little – allowing for his face to be seen by the green haired teenaged girl at the cash register who promptly screamed his name after her shock wore off, earning a quick response from many of the other people in the small fast food joint. Which left him fleeing the scene, food – sadly – left behind.

 _Well,_ the blonde thought miserably, _it was either the food or me_. As he skidded across the grey pathway towards a construction site where he hoped he could lose the tidal wave of people, Adrien pondered the thought as his stomach grumbled, _I would've been a worthy sacrifice…_ Somewhere between contemplating the importance of his McDonald's Happy Meal to his life, the green-eyed model passed two girls collapsed on the ground; but – with the crowd almost upon him – he didn't have the time to help them, nor to recognize the similarities that one of the girls shared with a certain blue-haired girl from his past.

 *** Collège – French equivalent to middle school**

 *** Ecoles Maternelles – French equivalent to kindergarten**

 *** Ecole primaire – French equivalent to primary school**

 *** Lycée – French equivalent to high school**

 **A/N: TBH I'm not happy with this chapter. It's short and only a filler chapter (man, I hate writing those). Next one should be better, hopefully. Bear with me. Quick question, should this be a reverse love-square fic or should I stick with everyone's current crushes? Any other thoughts?**


	3. Adrien

" _I don't know how you're still standing, dude."_ Nino, Adrien's best friend, commented from the other end of the blonde boy's phone, " _You must be some kind of superhero or something._ " He joked.

"If only." Adrien sighed.

After he managed to escape the clutches of his maniac fan-base – mind you, it wasn't easy avoiding those crazies' sharp talons – he had jumped the security gate, dashed up the front steps and barged through the grand doors to find his father's disappointed glare from the top of the stairs in the foyer. The following conversation was one he'd rather forget.

"Nino, what am I going to do? He's not ever going to let me leave." The boy mumbled dejectedly.

" _Adrien, dude, listen me. You can do this. Don't give up!"_ The tanned boy encouraged.

On Adrien's end of the line, the young model was continued to kick of his walls as he effortlessly glided across his room on his wheelie chair that usually sat at his desk. His father had grounded him to his room. Not like it made a difference anyway, Adrien was always stuck in his room – grounded or _not_.

"Easy there, Nino, who said anything about _giving up_?" a Cheshire-like grin brightened the unusually dull features of his face as he continued to kick from one wall to the other.

" _That's my man! You just have to think outside the box, like, what wouldn't your old man expect you to do?"_

A minute passed as Adrien thought, "Walk down the streets of Paris in knock-off clothing."

" _Noooo!"_ Nino's exasperated cry was heard from Adrien's phone, " _To be honest, I would be surprised if you had_ _ **any**_ _clothing that_ _ **wasn't**_ _'Gabriel' in that gigantic wardrobe of yours, let alone a knock-off. But that's beside the point!"_ The green-eyed boy rolled his eyes as his friend continued, " _What wouldn't your father expect you to do,_ _ **in this situation**_ _, ADRIEN!"_

"Well." Replied said boy, "I have a couple of ideas, but is it really worth it? I mean, I only have one year of school left, why go through all the trouble for just _one_ year?"

" _But dude, it will be the best year of your_ _ **life**_ _! We could hang out every day, just like we used to!"_

"We do hang out every day now, Nino." Adrien rebutted.

" _Yeah, 'cause talking to you through a piece of scrap metal or via online is_ _ **totally**_ _hangin' out with my best bud."_ The darker skinned boy replied emotionlessly.

That was how the two re-acquainted. Approximately three years ago, Adrien had signed onto an online medieval game involving knights, vivid battles and damsels who wore very little clothing – something his father would never have approved of if he knew what his son was playing, Adrien's own little revolt against him – under the username 'Felix'. It was several sleepless nights later, due to the boy's new addiction with the game, that _Felix_ met ' _Bubbles'_. After teaming up, the two low-level players had later out-ranked every other player in their lobby, defeating the game shortly after.

Their adventures didn't end there, however. _Bubbles_ had given _Felix_ his email address, so they could still talk to each other and discuss what games they could play together. After some very long conversations – often dragging into the late night and early morning – _Bubbles_ had revealed to _Felix_ his first name (nothing too personal in case _Felix_ turned out to be a predator).

' _I'm Nino.'_

Despite being a mere two words, they sent a 14-year-old Adrien off in a fit of triumphant screams around his room. Once calmed down, Adrien had replied with a hasty:

' _NINO ITS ME ADRIEN!'_

And the two had kept in touch since, whether it be via phone call, text message, video game or skype, and that made Adrien the happiest boy in Paris. He wasn't alone anymore. Sure, they hadn't reunited in person yet, but it was number two on his 'To-Do' list. Right after '#1: Go to school'.

" _C'mon man, you know you want this! Besides, if you want to get into a University, or even a job_ _ **other**_ _than modelling, once this year is done a graduation certificate would be kinda handy."_

Adrien, once again, went over his options. He didn't _really_ want to get in trouble with his father at this point in his life. If he messed up now, the chances of his father letting him leave the mansion and live his own life would significantly shrink. Eighteen or not. But on the other side of the coin, if things went to plan, Adrien would be able to live a life semi-normal life – a life like that of every other teen. The possibilities would be endless. He could make friends – other than Nino and Chloe – and interact with them daily. He could have fun! Could he find his other old friends, if he were lucky? Maybe even go to a party? A girlfriend, perhaps?

The blonde quickly shook away the thoughts that accompanied the last one. It would never become a reality unless he acted now.

" _Dude, you still there? Hellooooooo?"_ Cooed Nino.

"Alright. Let's do this."

There was only a week left of Summer, one more week and school would start up again. This meant the boys had to work fast.

A week from now, Adrien would be in school. A week from now, he'd reunite with many a friend he'd thought he'd lost. A week from now, Adrien Agreste would become Chat Noir.

 **A/N: A short chapter, I'm sorry, but my gut told me to leave it here (as my gut can talk, obviously). However, I did update somewhat shortly after the last chapter, so I hope that makes up for it! But anyways, what did you guys think of my little Adrien and Nino interaction there? Was it good? Bad? Do you want more chapters at this length? Less? Don't be shy. Reviews = fuel for anti-writer's-block shield :P**


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